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Are you touchable?

do_not_disturb

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us...
John 1:14

Have you ever been part of an airport reunion?

Typically I’m the one waiting, welcoming home the weary traveler.
It’s good.

But this week was different.
I was the one being received.
I was the one receiving incoming messages like, “Time is standing still waiting for you.”

And it was really good.
But why?
After all, Jeff and I had been talking all week.

But we had not been in touch.

There is a sacred touch.

Remember how throngs gathered around Jesus?
Just to touch him.
Even the edge of his clothes.

There was power in the touch.

Jesus came as a gift.
To be touched. To touch.
Not as a pristine idol to be placed on high shelf
to be gazed at but never fingered.

He came in the flesh.
And the touch of his flesh made well (MATTHEW 14:36).

I’m here in the flesh.
I can touch.
I can be touched. 

Aren’t most gifts meant to be handled? Touched? 

Jeff had me at my feet. Back in the dating months. He’d rub my feet while we watched TV. No time limit. What? I was used to trade-offs. You scratch my back for 5 minutes; I’ll scratch yours for 5. Not now.

Touch is a love language.

Thomas needed touch.
The hands. The side.
Jesus offered it (JOHN 20:27).

The touch brought belief.

Jesus was touchable.

I don’t have the body of a fitness guru.
Or the beauty of a Covergirl.

But what I do have
is the finger that wears his ring.

It says I’m the one entitled.
To touch.
To be touched.

God says so (1 CORINTHIANS 7:4).

I am the gift at the airport.
To be hugged and kissed.
And touched.

* * *

My girls had special dolls from grandma that only they could play with, not their company.
What in your home is for certain hands only?

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22 comments:

Cindy said...

This is nice I love your post today.
What do we have...oh a little tea pot set that I gave to my grand-daughter Sydney, sit atop Grandma's pantry and it is only for her little hands. She pulls a chair over to the carpet and asks for her little tea party.

Julie said...

Oh yeah...I am not just reading your words and nodding, acknowledging them today...I am feeling them in my core, not just my head. I have been re-realizing the value of "presence" in the marriage. Not having the man around makes it fresh in your mind doesn't it...all that you miss in "the touch?", and so for them too. Two days short of 8 weeks come Saturday the 19th...he will be back not for a weekend, but a WEEK!!! Lord have mercy. **It's not my feet, but my back. :-) SO miss his wonderful warm hands rubbing my back....touch...it LITERALLY does a body good, but oh what it does to the heart and soul...Thanks for another awesome post Lisa. I'm with you. hugs...

denise said...

Bonnie and Tyler are engaged!

Barbara H. said...

Lovely.

I used to think my children needed to learn to share everything, but over time came to realize it was perfectly all right to put some special things away.

Anonymous said...

Yes!!!! (Touch is certainly one of my love languages!) There's just something special about that "in the flesh"...

Trisha said...

Lisa,
What a wonderful post! I was reading in Mark this morning how Jesus took up a child and held him...what a wonderful touch that must have been!

Lisa notes... said...

Cindy,
Oh, I can imagine how cute that little tea pot set is! My m-i-l has a set that she used to use to have tea parties with my daughters (occasionally I was invited too). Such fond memories. I look forward to having tea parties myself one day if my daughters are blessed to marry and have kids.

Julie,
I can’t even begin to imagine 8 weeks! I pray that your one week together will go very slooooowly. Touch definitely does a body good, and I’m all about hands on my back too. :-)

Denise,
! ! !
That is wonderful news. I'm thankful that God is blessing Bonnie with such joy. She has proven so faithful.

Lisa notes... said...

Barbara,
Even *I* put certain things away still. :-) I have several pop-up books that I read to my kids over and over when they young, and I keep them on a shelf in my living room. But I’ve discovered the hard way that not all kids are as gentle with them and several have gotten torn up. So now (when I remember) I put them up when I know certain kids will be at the house. ;-) I want to be able to read them to my grandkids some day.

Monica,
I wonder if you can grow into a love language… I don’t know that touch used to be a primary language for me, but it definitely seems more important to me as the years go by.

Trisha,
Can you even imagine how the child must have felt? Or even the mother, watching? I know we have Jesus in such special ways now through his Spirit, but I still think it would be special to feel his touch… Thankful that he knows what is best though…

Dawn said...

"I am the gift at the airport"...because "I have the finger that wears his ring." Beautiful.

These are meaningful words about touch. My mom lives alone and often goes for days without a human touch. I always hug her hello and goodbye when we are together. It really is important.

Sensuous Wife said...

So precious!

I can hardly find the words to say how precious your words are and the feminine heart those words convey.
Wow.

Stephani Cochran said...

Truly a special post and so important yet, touch isn't easy for my on the whole. It's a very intimate thing, and I'm very good at having my guard up! There are only a few people it's easy for my to touch; my husband, my nieces and my mom. It is especially difficult for me to receive loving touch from others, I prefer to give it. Maybe I need to think about the gift of receiving touch as much as the gift of giving it. This is definitely something for me to meditate on. ~ Thanks Lisa.

Joybird said...

At my house we have "Auntie Joy's No Touch Pop-up Books" (although my bro owns a set as well. They are beautiful, delicate and intricate. My cousins' kids know that they can look at them only with me (and with permission they can touch, gently). In fact last Christmas my brother gave me his latest no-touch popup book for safekeeping because our dad (who is 62) was not being gentle and "clearly did not understand the meaning of no-touch pop-up book." grin

On a more serious note, touch is absoltely my love language, yet interestingly enough as I get older that seems to make me more sensitive/pick as to who can touch me and how.

Connie said...

"Jesus came as a gift.
To be touched. To touch."...beautifully written Lisa...may we be light, salt and touch people for Him

Lynn Severance said...

I loved this posting, Lisa!

I am waiting to be someone's "gift at the airport".
I'll let you know when he arrives.

Love,
Lynn

rjerdee said...

It really is about the body, isn't it? I remember reading a young woman's account of the sudden death of her husband and missing him...it was his body, his actual body, his presence that she missed. his touch. That story has stuck with me for years...

Craig said...

Amen, touch is so important. You hit on it so well. The tassle of Our Lord’s garment, the offer for Thomas (which he decided not to take – in faith).

I have a household of two – just me and Laska the love kitty – and even he needs to run over and touch me – and he does – and I need it too – the picking him up and cradling him and rubbing my face in his belly.

Lisa, thank you for this today

God Bless and Keep you and your family

Lisa notes... said...

Dawn,
After my dad died last Valentine’s Day, I remember thinking how starved for touch my mother would be. She had Alzheimer’s, and touch was often a way that we knew we could connect with her, even when she might not understand what else was going on. She only lived 7 more months after my dad died and I sure miss getting and giving those hugs. I’m glad that you always hug your mom – keep it up!

Kati patrianoceu said...

Wow! This really is striking. There is so limited touch in my life, almost no opportunity since I never stay somewhere long enough to reach that level of intimacy. And yes, it is something to be valued...

Lisa notes... said...

Kati,
And I’m guessing you probably don’t even SEE a lot of touch in many of the places where you go? Public displays of affection are so common in America, but I know it’s not the same way in many places around the globe…

alittlebitograce said...

my love language is touch. i so value the positive touch from my husband, especially after a demanding day with my wee ones. i liked how you interwove the personal with the scripture.

Mommy Emily said...

oh lisa, loved this... the sacred touch... the knowing in the hands-on... the intimacy of the airport reunion... a beautiful, holy post friend. you bless me.

Bethany Ann said...

"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched-- this we proclaim concerning the Word of life." - I John 1:1

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